scphotographer
New member
Hello all, I’m Charles. I am 25, live in western SC, and weigh in at 321lbs as of this posting. My weight has gotten to the point that I have to do something. It has affected my ability to do some of the things I used to enjoy so much. My knees constantly hurt, I have back pain due to the weight and I miss dating and socializing the way I used to. I am a photographer by profession and most of my daily work is either behind a computer, behind the lens in my studio or sitting / standing on the sidelines of some sporting event taking photos. I then come home to an empty home with nothing to do but sit in front of the TV or computer. I do have outdoor activities but they also involve minimal physical exertion (bass fishing and drag racing.)
I recently found a box of photos from high school. I was a much leaner guy back then. I weighed in around 200lbs my senior year and had a decent muscle mass. I played football and weight trained 3 days a week for an hour and half each of those 3 days. My weight gain started when I graduated and moved to college. I lived on fast food and beer the whole 4 years. I never once exercised or even thought about my weight. My friends and I laughed it off as a “beer belly” Once I graduated college the daily routine quickly set in. I freelanced for the local news papers and a few websites until I had enough saved up to open a studio. This was a very tough time and most of the time all I could afford was double cheese burgers from McDonalds or whoppers from Burger King while beer was still my beverage of choice during my nightly meals.
About 18 months ago I put an end to a 10 year habit. I quit smoking cold turkey with the aid of peppermints. I was consuming a 3lb bag of them every 2 days. Quitting smoking also caused me to eat much more. I went from 2-3 times a day to 4-5 times a day. It got so bad that I have eaten whole large pizzas at one sitting or an entire box of frosted flakes at a time. Only recently have I cut back on the fast food and started cooking my own meals. I did have pizza last night though. When I cut out smoking I also cut out soft drinks opting for water mostly but that only lasted about 6 months before I was back to Dr. Pepper and Pepsi.
I wake up every morning and while shaving I avoid looking at anything but my chin and neck area because I am ashamed of how I have let myself go. I avoid hanging out with my friends because my self esteem is so low. When I go shopping its always at times when I think less people will be around to see me. I even try to sit in the booth or table farthest away from everyone when I go out to eat.
The things I enjoy like fishing and racing are getting harder and harder because of my size. While my boat is more than capable of handling my weight it’s just awkward to get in and out of because of the difference my weight makes in the buoyancy at the dock. I will step onto the deck and the front of the boat will lower by 8-10 inches. Ever since I was a kid I have helped my grandfather build and race drag cars. Over the last few years I have seen my times slowly decrease due to my weight and the physical size of my body makes it hard to get in and out of a car with a roll cage in it.
I was with my last g/f for 4 years. I met her my freshman year in college and she was wonderful. I was at the time that lean man I spoke of earlier. I was confident, attractive and was over flowing with self esteem. We broke up shortly after graduation and I tried getting back into the dating scene but after a few rejections and even a few laughs in my face I gave up and focused on my work. If there is one thing in the world that is worse than being sick its being lonely. I miss the feeling of companionship. I miss having someone to see in the afternoons, to go to dinner with, to just spend time with. I know my weight is a major factor in the lack of women who find me attractive. I am after all a college graduate who owns his own business, and home.
So today I made the decision to change. I want to lose some weight and once again be happy with myself. I want to be able to go to the store and not have to look for hours and only find one shirt that fits me or pay 3x the price for a pair of pants. So I got on google and found this site. I hope that over the next months I can come up with a weight loss plan and I look forward to posting the details of my journey. My only problem is I have no idea where to start. In my head I have been considering cutting my portions down and have those portions be healthier food. Then in the beginning walking a few miles a day until my knees can handle some more heavy impact jogging and running. If I am going about this all wrong please tell me.
My stats as of this posting.
Age: 24
Height: 6’2”
Weight: 321lbs
WOW that was a lot but I think I covered everything. (One thousand words to be exact.) Thanks for reading and I look forward to joining the discussion in the coming days.
I recently found a box of photos from high school. I was a much leaner guy back then. I weighed in around 200lbs my senior year and had a decent muscle mass. I played football and weight trained 3 days a week for an hour and half each of those 3 days. My weight gain started when I graduated and moved to college. I lived on fast food and beer the whole 4 years. I never once exercised or even thought about my weight. My friends and I laughed it off as a “beer belly” Once I graduated college the daily routine quickly set in. I freelanced for the local news papers and a few websites until I had enough saved up to open a studio. This was a very tough time and most of the time all I could afford was double cheese burgers from McDonalds or whoppers from Burger King while beer was still my beverage of choice during my nightly meals.
About 18 months ago I put an end to a 10 year habit. I quit smoking cold turkey with the aid of peppermints. I was consuming a 3lb bag of them every 2 days. Quitting smoking also caused me to eat much more. I went from 2-3 times a day to 4-5 times a day. It got so bad that I have eaten whole large pizzas at one sitting or an entire box of frosted flakes at a time. Only recently have I cut back on the fast food and started cooking my own meals. I did have pizza last night though. When I cut out smoking I also cut out soft drinks opting for water mostly but that only lasted about 6 months before I was back to Dr. Pepper and Pepsi.
I wake up every morning and while shaving I avoid looking at anything but my chin and neck area because I am ashamed of how I have let myself go. I avoid hanging out with my friends because my self esteem is so low. When I go shopping its always at times when I think less people will be around to see me. I even try to sit in the booth or table farthest away from everyone when I go out to eat.
The things I enjoy like fishing and racing are getting harder and harder because of my size. While my boat is more than capable of handling my weight it’s just awkward to get in and out of because of the difference my weight makes in the buoyancy at the dock. I will step onto the deck and the front of the boat will lower by 8-10 inches. Ever since I was a kid I have helped my grandfather build and race drag cars. Over the last few years I have seen my times slowly decrease due to my weight and the physical size of my body makes it hard to get in and out of a car with a roll cage in it.
I was with my last g/f for 4 years. I met her my freshman year in college and she was wonderful. I was at the time that lean man I spoke of earlier. I was confident, attractive and was over flowing with self esteem. We broke up shortly after graduation and I tried getting back into the dating scene but after a few rejections and even a few laughs in my face I gave up and focused on my work. If there is one thing in the world that is worse than being sick its being lonely. I miss the feeling of companionship. I miss having someone to see in the afternoons, to go to dinner with, to just spend time with. I know my weight is a major factor in the lack of women who find me attractive. I am after all a college graduate who owns his own business, and home.
So today I made the decision to change. I want to lose some weight and once again be happy with myself. I want to be able to go to the store and not have to look for hours and only find one shirt that fits me or pay 3x the price for a pair of pants. So I got on google and found this site. I hope that over the next months I can come up with a weight loss plan and I look forward to posting the details of my journey. My only problem is I have no idea where to start. In my head I have been considering cutting my portions down and have those portions be healthier food. Then in the beginning walking a few miles a day until my knees can handle some more heavy impact jogging and running. If I am going about this all wrong please tell me.
My stats as of this posting.
Age: 24
Height: 6’2”
Weight: 321lbs
WOW that was a lot but I think I covered everything. (One thousand words to be exact.) Thanks for reading and I look forward to joining the discussion in the coming days.
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